This months solar data is an interesting read for myself as this month we used less electricity from the grid and our overall power consumption was down. This was expected as we were away for 7 days so there was not the normal demand.
With spring very much in the ascendency the batteries will charge far quicker due to the longer days with the sun rising earlier and setting later. The recent rains we have experienced would have cleaned up the panels nicely as I had noticed a layer of fine silt which is carried by the winds. This silt or dust is most likely from the many gold mine dumps in the region. We all know this is not healthy as who knows what chemical laden dust is floating around in the air.
The good news is that our Durban property is being valuated today even thought here are a few tweaks still needing to be completed. Once sold a percentage of the funds will be moved onto the Johannesburg house with the balance being sent off shore.
Getting off the grid entirely is the aim and this will be achieved once the property has been sold. There will be no skimping as I do know what we need to leave the grid behind. Another 4 batteries will give us 40 kwh storage and there will be no power lost. This month we were throwing away an average of 9kwh per day so just another two batteries would save that daily loss. During the peak summer months we average a 12 kwh loss which would reduce the purchased grid supply to almost nothing.
The other requirement is another 7 or 8 solar panels which would increase our power generation by another 30% which will then exceed 1000kwh per day. This is more than enough power to supply the house needs and to top up the batteries. Adding a solar geyser would be the smart move even though it looks like we may not even need to do this.
We will not be supplying excess power back to the grid due to the hidden costs of being charged for that "privilege" and is not financially viable as an option. if we sent back 100kwh per day for the month we would only expect to receive around R1200 in payments and the cost of being connected to the grid is more than that.
The value associated with a property off the grid far outweighs anything else as in South Africa this is so rare and we would be the only one to my knowledge in our region. The kwh prices are never going to be coming down and are only going to rise at around 18-25% each year so this is the future and what every house aspires to achieve if they can afford it.
These solar systems are not cheap and why most properties have a small solar system for back up power and not as there main source of power. Doing this ourselves we would end up at a similar price as some of these smaller units even though ours will be triple the size. Other properties would be using a solar company and this would also be financed so those costs would not be cheap and why they are 3 x more expensive.